Apple Cider and Date Coffee Cake

A moist apple cider flavored cake with a cinnamon sugar and date swirl and a cinnamon sugar streusel topping. It's a fall treat you won't want to miss!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 15

Servings servings

Calories 525kcal

Author Alana Lieberman

Cost $15

Equipment

two 8x8 or 9x9 inch cake pans

Ingredients

For the Cake

3 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1 cup apple cider
2 medium granny smith apples

For the Streusel

10 medjool dates
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pans with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until combined.
Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Followed by half of the apple cider. Beat until just combined. Repeat with the other half of flour, then the other half of cider. Do not over-mix.
Add the dates to a small bowl and cover them with warm water to rehydrate them. Set the bowl aside and allow the dates to soak for about 10 minutes.
Peel and dice the apples. Then, use a rubber spatula to fold them into the cake batter. Set the bowl with the batter aside.
Prepare the streusel by cubing room temperature butter into a large mixing bowl.
Add flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the butter and use your hands to mix them into the butter until they are well incorporated and form large crumbs.
Drain the water from the dates and remove their pits. Chop the dates into small pieces.
For each pan: pour 2 cups of batter, then 1 cup of streusel, and a ½ cup of dates. Top with 2 cups of batter plus any remaining batter left in the bowl, followed by 1 cup of streusel plus any extra.
Place the baking pans in the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with a few crumbs.

Storage

To store: Allow the cake to cool completely before wrapping tightly with plastic wrap and storing on your counter. However, due to the cake's moisture, you may want to store the cake in your refrigerator after a day or two so it will keep fresh longer.
The cake will last an additional 3 days once stored in the refrigerator. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before slicing and serving.
To freeze: You can either freeze this apple cider and date coffee cake whole or slice it into individual serving-sized pieces. Either way, allow the cake to cool completely before wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap. Store in the freezer up to 4 months.
To defrost: remove the cake from the freezer one day before serving and place it immediately into the refrigerator. Allow cake about 8 hours in the fridge to defrost completely.

Notes

Dates are a sweet, dried fruit. Their sweetness is very similar to honey in flavor. They can often be found in the produce aisle of your grocery store near the nuts, salad toppings, or dried fruits.
Fresh non-alcoholic apple cider is a seasonal drink. However, some stores carry the pasteurized version in their refrigerated section near the produce aisle year-round. Flavor-wise, I like the orchard-fresh apple cider best, which is sold September through November, either at your local grocery store or at cider mills (depending on your location). However, both kinds of apple cider will work for the purpose of this recipe.

Nutrition